The present invention is directed to a one-piece flexible tube connector and method of manufacture.
Metal supply tubes are typically used with flexible supply tubing for plumbing applications including water supply systems. Known supply tubes typically consist of a two-piece assembly produced by attaching a fitting onto an end of a thin wall tube. Each fitting is attached to a tube by any of various known methods such as brazing, threading, for example. A separate fitting is attached to the tube because traditional fittings typically include barbed configurations that are too deep to be cut or stamped directly into the thin wall tube. Known fittings typically include barbed configurations that require a wall thickness of approximately 0.112-0.115 inches to accommodate machining the geometry associated with a typical fitting, while a typical thin wall tube used in a water supply system only has wall thickness of 0.040 inches. Therefore, known supply tubes require assembly to attach fittings, which can be costly. In addition, there is a potential risk of mechanical failure and/or leakage associated with the two-piece design.
As such, it would be desirable to provide a flexible tubing connector that is formed as a single piece with the tube, which eliminates the need to attach fittings onto an end of a thin wall tube.